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Airlines (Data Collection)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation there has been on the revised rules under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (Information) Order 2002; and what estimate he has made of (a) the additional time it will take for airlines to collect the data from passengers and (b) the potential delays caused by this procedure. [74084]

Mr. Blunkett: Following the issue of a consultation document in March this year, two rounds of consultation meetings between Home Officials and representatives of the air and sea industries took place between April and July and in August. A third round is scheduled to run from 22 October to 14 November.

In addition, I met representatives of the industries on 11 July and my hon. Friend the Minister of State (Beverley Hughes) met them on 16 October, keeping our commitment to ensure that representatives of the industry have access to Ministers.

These meetings have considered all the issues relevant to implementation, including how best to keep potential costs and delays to a minimum, while ensuring we are doing everything possible to disrupt and deter potential terrorists.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 June from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Amir Chaudhry; [74561]

(2) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 June from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Amir Chaudhry. [76237]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 18 October 2002.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 5 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Amanat Vilah. [74566]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 18 October 2002.

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Worcestershire will receive answers to his letters of 28 August and 24 June about Ms Jackie Neilson. [76013]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 21 October 2002]: A reply to the hon. Member's letters of 24 June and 28 August is currently being prepared. I apologise for

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the considerable delay in responding to the issues he has raised; however, I can confirm that the constituent on whose behalf he contacted me was informed of the outcome of her application for a work permit on 14 August.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has considered the prospect of floating coastal accommodation centres for asylum seekers, and the cost and other implications thereof; and if he will make a statement. [75405]

Beverley Hughes: Site searching has continued as we said it would when we announced our shortlist for Accommodation Centre sites on 14 May. We have not ruled out the possibility of using floating accommodation centres for asylum seekers.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made to establish a system enabling the Home Office to identify the whereabouts of every asylum seeker during the period from application to final determination. [75435]

Beverley Hughes: We are making improvements in contact management as detailed in the current Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill. This states that asylum seekers in the proposed Accommodation Centres may be required to report daily within the Centre. We will seek to maintain contact with those asylum seekers who are dispersed. Those who do not require the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation will also be required to report. During

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the induction process asylum seekers will be informed of their obligations to provide up to date address details and to report as required. Provision of support will be conditional on complying with these requirements.

The Immigration Service will manage the contact process actively. There are eight designated reporting centres which have been established throughout the country to assist in managing these reporting regimes. Contact management will be further enhanced by the use of a mobile reporting centre, by immigration staff using specified police stations for reporting and by visiting asylum seekers at their accommodation.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the latest estimated cost is of (a) building and (b) staffing the proposed pilot accommodation centres for asylum seekers. [75431]

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the member for Wallasey (Angela Eagle) gave to the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) on 8 March 2002, Official Report, column 595W.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how may applications for asylum from Iraq were received in the first two quarters of 2002; how many were rejected; how many are subject to appeal; and how many removals have taken place. [75412]

Beverley Hughes: The table shows the number of applications received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions of Iraqi nationals for the first two quarters of 2002.

	Applications Received	Total Initial Decisions	Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum	Not recognised as a refugee but granted exceptional leave	Refusals
Quarter 1 2002	2,840	2,535	220	1,430	890
Quarter 2 2002	3,420	2,545	195	1,775	575

Notes:

⁽⁸⁾ Figures rounded to the nearest five.

⁽⁹⁾ Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.

Provisional figures

Data on initial decisions are independent of applications data, and do not all necessarily relate to applications lodged in the same period. There are no data available on asylum appeals lodged by nationality. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records. In the first quarter (January to March) of 2002, an estimated 35 Iraqi principal asylum applicants were removed. This includes persons departing ''voluntarily'' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International organisation for migration (IOM), and excludes dependants. Data on removals by nationality in the second quarter of 2002 are not yet available. This information will be published on 29 November on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1.html.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he anticipates that the first pilot accommodation centre for asylum seekers will become operational. [75429]

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Mr. Luff) of 18 June, Official Report, column 278W.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are being held in prison service accommodation; and if he will make a statement. [75423]

Beverley Hughes: The latest available information on the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers relates to 29 June 2002. As at

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that date, 105 persons (to the nearest five) were being detained in Prison Service accommodation who are recorded as having claimed asylum at some stage.

The routine use of Prison Service accommodation for immigration detainees ended at the beginning of this year, but it remains necessary to hold small numbers of detainees in prison for reasons of control and security. The figure of 105 may also include individuals who are held pending deportation on completion of custodial sentences.

Information on Immigration Act detainees as at 28 September 2002 will be published on 29 November 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what efforts he has made to renegotiate the bilateral agreement with France relating to the return of illegal entrants to France; and if he will make a statement. [75415]

Beverley Hughes: A bilateral ''Gentleman's Agreement'' between the UK and France operated in relation to asylum seekers from 1995 to 1997 and is still in force in relation to other illegal entrants. The first clause of that agreement stated that its application to asylum seekers would be superseded by the Dublin Convention when that came into force.

We believe the most important thing is to stop the flow of clandestine immigrants from France to the UK in the first place. My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary has developed a very constructive working relationship with his French counterpart, Mr. Sarkozy, and we are putting in place a broad range of measures which will drive this flow down. These include a commitment to closing the Sangatte centre, and tougher immigration controls and security measures.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of failed asylum seekers in the UK. [75416]

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is unavailable, partly because it is not possible to determine the number of unsuccessful asylum seekers who leave the United Kingdom voluntarily without informing the Immigration Service of their departure.

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Information on asylum applications, decisions, appeals and removals is published regularly on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of failed asylum seekers who were removed from the UK in the last 12 months were (a) in detention prior to removal and (b) at large prior to removal. [75413]

Beverley Hughes: The number of asylum seekers removed in the 12 months ending June 2002 is given in the table. More recent information is not yet available. Information on how many of these persons were in detention or at large prior to removal could be obtained only by examining individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Asylum seekers removed

	Principal applicants removed	Dependants removed	Total asylum seekers removed
July 2001 to June
2002
	9,890	2,030	11,920

Notes:

Provisional data, rounded to the nearest five.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Includes persons departing ''voluntarily'' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.

Information on the number of asylum seekers removed in the third quarter (July to September) of 2002 will be published on 29 November on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opportunities are available to those claiming asylum to change (a) caseworkers and (b) counsel allocated to them. [75482]

Beverley Hughes: It is open to applicants to change their representatives or counsel at any time, as they are engaged by the applicant and not allocated by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). IND caseworkers are allocated according to the needs of the business, and it would not be open to the applicant to request a change, save in the most exceptional circumstances.

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